The walk itself is easy. Finding the right beach is the bit nobody tells you about.
Yes, the Beadnell to Seahouses walk is a good walk for dogs. The main beach is huge, flat and open, with plenty of room for dogs to run and go in the water. The two things to be aware of are the confusing start in Beadnell and the rocky exit beside Seahouses Golf Club.
We walked it with 2 golden retrievers and expected it to feel much longer. The route is roughly 2.6 miles one way, but once you reach the beach, you walk in one direction and then around a bend. Seahouses appears ahead of you. From there, it feels surprisingly close.
If you’re looking to come and stay in Beadnell with a dog, check out these recommended dog-friendly places to stay in Beadnell; they’re all close by for this walk.
We parked in the car park next to The Landing, close to Beadnell Harbour and the lime kilns.
This is where the walk can become confusing.
The beach directly beside the car park is not the beach you follow to Seahouses. If you try to continue behind Beadnell Lime Kilns, you reach a large area of rocks.
Children might enjoy climbing over them and looking in the rock pools, but you cannot simply walk past with the dogs. It is not a sensible way to start the walk.
We also ended up near Ebbs Nook before realising we were still going the wrong way. Ebbs Nook is worth seeing separately, but it takes you away from Seahouses.
We cover the Lime Kilns to Ebbs Nook dog walk here.
From the car park, go back towards Beadnell village and join the main road in the direction of Seahouses.
We walked along the pavement for what felt like 200 to 300 yards. There are some lovely houses along this part of the road, but what you really need to look for is the public footpath sign pointing back towards the coast.
A large sign saying “Beach Walk to Seahouses” would have made things much easier.
There isn’t one.
The public footpath marker is the sign you need.
Follow the grassy path away from the road and towards the sea.
The way down we used was steeper than expected. There was a narrow grass path followed by a loose sandy slope that looked around four or five metres high.
We managed it, but an older person or someone with mobility problems could struggle. The sand moves, and there is nothing substantial to hold onto.
There may be an easier access point somewhere along this section. We didn’t use one, so we can only describe the route we took.
Once you reach the sand, the difficult route-finding is over.
Walk towards Seahouses with the sea on your right and the dunes on your left.
We filmed the walk from Beadnell to Seahouses, including the road section, public footpath sign, beach access and the rocky exit beside the golf course.
Allow longer than an hour if your dog spends time in the water, you stop for photographs, or you continue into Seahouses Harbour. If you want to compare this route with other local options, see our guide to dog walks in Beadnell.
The beach is the reason to do this walk. It is much bigger than we expected.
Closer to the Beadnell end, we passed some fabulous beachfront properties on our left, looking straight over the sand. We don’t know whether those particular homes accept dogs, but these 3 dog-friendly Beadnell beach stays certainly do.
Check them out if sea views are on the list for your next stay.
We walked during the morning, and the tide was out. It is still worth checking tide times before leaving.
Large rocky areas and rock pools stretch out into the North Sea in places. They look as though they might block the route from a distance, but they don’t. We stayed on the sand while the dogs investigated the pools.
The beach was quiet without feeling empty.
We passed another couple or small group roughly every five minutes. More than half had a dog with them, and most of the dogs we saw were off lead.
Because the beach is so wide, it was easy to give everyone space. This is not somewhere you constantly have to move your dog out of another person’s way.
Annstead Dunes Nature Reserve runs behind the beach between Beadnell and Seahouses.
The dunes are high enough to hide most of the houses and traffic on the other side. You are lower than everything behind them.
That was probably our favourite thing about the walk.
There is very little shelter. We had a good day, but this beach would feel completely different in strong wind or heavy rain.
We didn’t notice any bins or water taps on the main beach, so take water and dog bags with you.
As you get closer to Seahouses, you may also get views towards the Farne Islands. Seahouses itself becomes clearer after the route bends towards the golf course.
We were comfortable letting Henry and Bandit off lead on the open beach.
It was quiet, they had plenty of space and their recall is reliable. Whether this works for your dog will depend on recall, the tide, wildlife and how busy the beach is when you visit.
Beadnell Bay and the main beaches around Seahouses generally welcome dogs throughout the year. That does not mean dogs can run freely through every part of the route.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust asks visitors to keep dogs on leads inside Annstead Dunes Nature Reserve. Exmoor ponies may be used to graze the reserve, although we did not see livestock during our walk.
We didn’t see nesting birds either, but you should still follow any signs or seasonal instructions in place when you visit.
We would use leads:
Older dogs should manage the distance if they are used to regular walks. The softer sand may tire them more quickly, and the steep beach access points are likely to be a bigger issue than the distance.
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The most awkward part of the walk came at the Seahouses end.
You’ve got to cross an uneven area of rocks to reach the wooden steps leading towards Seahouses Golf Club. This was harder underfoot than anything else on the route.
It was manageable for us, but someone older like our parents wouldn’t enjoy this.
There were several other narrow paths leading from the beach towards the road. One of those may provide an easier exit.
Once you reach the wooden steps, put the dogs back on their leads.
The marked path continues through the golf course before joining the road into Seahouses.
It is only a short section, but it does feel slightly like you are getting in the golfers’ way.
We think this walk works best one way.
Walking roughly three miles to Seahouses and then immediately retracing the same route didn’t appeal to us. Seahouses also gives you somewhere to stop for lunch, coffee or a look around the harbour.
There are dog-friendly pubs and cafés around the village and harbour. We went for a coffee because we had around 45 to 50 minutes before the next bus.
The bus back to Beadnell was easy, and the driver was great. We had no problems with the dogs on the bus; in 5 minutes, we were back.
The Arriva X18 serves both Seahouses and Beadnell. The timetable is not every 5 minutes, more like every 30-60 minutes, so check first.
You could also:
We would use the bus again.
If you plan to eat once you’re back, as we did, this list of dog-friendly places to eat in Beadnell covers the local options and what we know about taking dogs inside.
